The Pixel Buds’ best feature is now on all Google Assistant-enabled headphones

Let’s face it: Promising as they were, Google’s Pixel Buds just aren’t very good headphones, but that’s not to say they don’t have any merit. The most interesting feature the headphones offered at launch was the built-in Google Translate feature, which could translate conversations in real time. Now that feature is available on a lot more headphones, according to Droid Life. The support page for the Pixel Buds used to have a message that read “Google Translate on Google Pixel Buds is only available on Pixel phones.” Now that message reads “Google Translate is available on all Assistant-optimized headphones and Android phones,” which is a big deal. Now you can have the Pixel Buds’ best feature on headphones you like more, like the Bose QuietComfort 35 II or the Earin M2, both of which feature Google Assistant integration. The USB-C earbuds packed in with the new Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL phones featured real-time translation, proving that the functionality wasn’t limited to the Pixel Buds. It would be somewhat understandable if Google wanted to keep the feature exclusive to its own headphones, but it was clear that the company didn’t intend to do this after the LG Tone SE neck buds also featured Google-powered translation. Whether you’ll actually use this likely depends on where you live and how much you travel, but it’s an undeniably handy feature for certain types of people. Even if you don’t frequently find yourself having conversations with people who speak other languages, it’s still… [Read full story]